Influence of laser cladding process on the magnetic properties of WC–FeNiCr metal–matrix composite coatings

Metal–matrix composite (MMC) coatings were deposited by laser cladding technique with direct injection of WC–FeNiCr powder onto N1310 nonmagnetic steel matrix. Laser cladding was conducted using a Trumpf6000 CO2 laser. The morphology of WC–FeNiCr MMC coatings was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Magnetic properties of WC–FeNiCr MMC coatings were examined by vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) at room temperature. The influence of laser cladding process on the magnetic properties of coatings was investigated. It was found that the content of tungsten carbide and laser power have significant effect on the magnetic properties of composite coatings. The evolution of phase constitution at different laser power was identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The presence of an austenitic γ-(Fe, Ni), Cr0.19Fe0.7Ni0.11, Fe3W3C, WC and W2C phases were confirmed by the XRD analysis in the laser clad layer.